The Romulan War Stories: 3 - Shadows and Symbols
by BonesBird
Summary: After the attack on Coridan, Columbia is sent to investigate. But one member of their investigative team is without his own crew as backup. Meanwhile, Enterprise patrols Earth space, and prepares to retake another Earth controlled colony the Romulans have control of.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry it's taken so long to start posting this story. It's been an insane last few days! Hopefully this will get daily updates! Thanks for reading, as always. **

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**_August 2156_**

Malcolm shook his head in the direction of the screen, it was the last face he had expected to see, and the least welcome one right now. It had been more than 2 years since the Agents' face had last crossed his screen. Before that had been days of brig time and the possibility of court martial, nothing he wanted to face again. "I told you to never contact me again."

"We need your help again, and you know that you can't just walk away from us." He said, the shadows of whatever room he always called from making it impossible for Malcolm to recognise it, and therefore out the shadowy section of Starfleet Security.

"I'm not compromising myself and the loyalty I have to my captain. Not again." He shook his head, forcefully, it was something he wasn't going to do again.

"You won't have too."

"Any work I do for you would require me to break an oath I swore to him."

"It wouldn't be him you were working for." That was a sentence that stopped all thought process for a moment. How would he not be working for Captain Archer, considering he had been aboard _Enterprise_ for 5 years, and his loyalty to ship and crew was far beyond any loyalty he had to the section.

"I beg your pardon?"

"_Columbia_ is being sent to Coridan." The statement was so matter of fact Malcolm didn't even think to question it. It was just fact, even though as far as he was aware the Captains' hadn't returned from their briefing with command. The third in two days since the attack on Coridan.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I don't serve aboard _Columbia_."

"I believe your captain and _Columbia_'s are, shall we say, good friends."

"What does that have to do with it?" While he knew that the relationship status of the two captains was a somewhat open secret within the fleet; everybody knew, but if asked about it by anyone outside their shipmates they would deny it. How was their friendship supposed to get him aboard _Columbia_. Captain Hernandez had her own tactical officer. A very good one from what he could remember. There wasn't actually all that much for him to do there.

"Convince them to take you aboard _Columbia_."

"Why should I?"

"Why? Because I'm telling you too."

"That's not a reason I'm willing to accept."

Suddenly, his whole expression changed, became more serious and at the same time more worrying. "If _Columbia_ finds any trace that it wasn't the Romulans, we could be in for a two front war."

That gave him another pause to think. "What do you mean 'if' it wasn't the Romulans?" He asked suspiciously. Not sure he should take anything on the level during this conversation.

"I've told you all I can. I believe you need to speak to your captain." The screen went dark, and instead of rushing into a meeting with the Captain, he thought. What would this seriously be about. Could he risk not telling the captain the truth. Surely, if he told Captain Archer, he would have to tell the whole truth to Captain Hernandez. Maybe if he met the two of them at once it would be easier to explain. He felt uncomfortable thinking that he may go behind any Captains' back again.

With his decision made, he consulted the computer as to where he would find the captain, when he was informed he was in his quarters, he decided to take a 'better late than never' approach. He was stood at the door after knocking when he heard a second, far more feminine voice. He was about to turn away when he heard his name called from behind him. "Malcolm."

"I'm not disturbing anything, am I sir?"

"I'm just briefing Captain Hernandez on Coridan, come in." Archer's hand gesture to join them. He looked around, quickly, for where Captain Hernandez was sat, finding her at the head of the bed, clearly still reading one of the reports she'd been handed.

"Captain." He nodded in Hernandez's direction. He always forgot how commanding she looked. "I had another call sir, from Section 31."

"Jonathan, if you want we can continue this later." Hernandez said, reminding them both that she was present, just in case this was something she wasn't supposed to hear.

"Hang on Rike, Malcolm, what was it about." Archer held a hand out, stopping her making any movement.

"It was about Coridan, sir."

"Maybe it's best you stayed, what was said?"

"The only concrete things I got out of the conversation was that he wanted me to be on _Columbia_ for the investigation, and that the Romulans may not have been involved." He hit the highlights of the conversation. Knowing that none of them really had time for idle talk right now. He was sure that _Columbia_ would be on her way to Coridan any time now.

"You think this is another of their backdoor deals?"

"I think it's possible."

"Am I missing something here?" Hernandez asked, clearly not following the conversation.

"I'll explain it all properly later. It's classified but you have a need to know." Hernandez's nod showed she knew that Archer would be breaking about a dozen rules by telling her, he was right, though. She would need to know the details. "Malcolm, if you go on _Columbia_, who would be on tactical."

"Why don't we do an officer swap?" Hernandez suggested. "We'll take Malcolm for this mission, you take Kiona, if she agrees to it."

"You think she will?" Archer asked, looking around to the other captain.

"More than likely. She'd know _Columbia_ was in good hands with Malcolm."

"Likewise with her." Malcolm said, completely truthfully. Kiona Thayer was a good tactician, and an even better officer. He had always enjoyed his conversations with her when they had had the chance to speak.

The two captains' were sharing a look that was clearly a conversation he wasn't privy too. This was something he'd see the two of them do on more than one occasion, but it had always ended with a decision being made. "Alright, Malcolm. Let Erika and I sort this out, I'll contact you tonight, with the plan of action."

"Yes sir." He nodded a goodbye to Hernandez and spun on his heel, leaving the two captains to brief on this added situation on Coridan, as if the civil war they were fighting wasn't enough. He remembered enough from the last time they were there to know to avoid anything that wasn't directly in the cities. If he was going to be the lead in investigating the bombing as well, he'd need to stay focused, and try to forget everything he'd seen before.


	2. Chapter 2

**_2156 - September_**

Jonathan studied Kiona as she came into the ready room. He hadn't spent long enough with _Columbia_'s officers to know anything about her that wasn't in her file, and the occasional tidbit Erika had let slip when they'd occasionally spoken about their crews. Nothing significant was coming to mind, and asking her to speak with him was the best thing. He liked getting to know the officers under his command, even if it was only temporarily. "Hello lieutenant. Thank you for coming." He smiled, motioning to her to take the seat on the other side of his desk.

"Yes sir." She nodded neutrally, and he was reminded of Malcolm in the way she took everything so seriously. Maybe it was something about the security specialty, they were always so certain and serious.

"How are you finding _Enterprise_?" He asked, hoping that his crew were treating her as if she was one of their own. Though, he knew that most of the crews interacted more than the captains did. He and Erika spent plenty of time together when the ships were together, but they didn't interact with the crews, much. Maybe that was something they needed to change for the next time.

As it was Kiona just looked at him, before giving him a gentle shrug. "I've only been here a few weeks, sir."

"That's long enough to form an opinion."

"It's... Different." She settled on after a few minutes of thought. He wasn't really certain what she meant, but he could understand the differences between the two ships.

"Oh?"

"It's hard to explain, the rules are stricter here, not in a bad way. Also the crew is maybe a little closer, some of your staff don't seem to need orders, they just know what others will do."

"We do have almost 4 years of space time more than _Columbia_." He reminded her, knowing that the length of time a crew had been together made them gel, he was sure that Malcolm was feeling something similar on _Columbia_. But _Columbia_ had a mission, something that would keep him, and their crew, busy.

"I know that sir, and that is probably why. It's also probably why I feel a little like I'm the outsider. I don't know most of your crew, at least not outside of professional courtesy when our ships meet up."

"I'm sure things will get easier the longer you're here."

"No offence sir, and certain no offence to Lieutenant Reed, but I hope I'm not here for long. I would like to be back aboard _Columbia_ before Deneva, truth be told. You need your tactical officer and Captain Hernandez needs me."

He couldn't disagree with her. While he knew, and was certain, that Kiona was a good tactical officer, she didn't know _Enterprise_, and Malcolm didn't know _Columbia_. The ships may be all but identical on the surface, underneath he knew that they were very different. "I'm sure you will be a worthy substitute until Lieutenant Reed returns, and I can assure you he will take care of _Columbia_ as if she were _Enterprise_. I expect the same dedication from you."

"Of course, sir."

"Have you ever run an inspection tour before?" He asked, wondering if Kiona or _Columbia_ had done the tours of the inner colonies since the war began. As he recalled, _Columbia_ had been left out defending the cargo runs when _Enterprise_ had been left giving the inspections.

"No sir, I've run inspections on trade ships though. We came across our fair share of illegal traders when doing the cargo runs."

"These aren't much different."

"Captain?" Kiona asked after a few minutes of reflection.

"Yes."

"Have you thought about tactics for Romulan attacks, just in case we have to face them before Deneva or before I go back to _Columbia_."

"Did you and Captain Hernandez have a plan?" He asked, fairly sure that whatever plan he might have had with Malcolm was very much unspoken. He preferred thinking on his feet.

"Yes, sir. But _Enterprise_ is a different ship and, from what I remember, slightly worse off in the weapons department because you recommended several upgrades for _Columbia_."

"That's true, though you know the weak points of a warbird now as well as anyone. We'll play it by ear and what happens, happens. Alright." At Kiona's nod he studied her another moment, realising that she still wasn't as confident as maybe he should have been. Maybe it was his style of command, where he expected his entire staff to know what they were doing, that didn't really comfort him. He had known Erika long enough to trust the officers she had hand-picked and trained up. "Kiona, I've known Captain Hernandez a very long time, and I know that she picked you out of a long list of candidates. I trust her judgement, and she has mentioned time and again how good at your job you are. If she trusts you with the safety of her ship, I trust you with the safety of mine."

"Thank you, sir." She smiled a little, and he reached out and squeezed her shoulder in a supportive way before she stood up to leave. She stopped after a few steps and turned back to him, clearly with something still on her mind. "Sir, you just said you've known Captain Hernandez a long time, haven't you?"

"Almost 20 years, why?" He asked, looking up again.

"Has she always been so calm?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, not certain exactly what she was asking, and he wasn't going to incriminate himself into saying something about Erika when that wasn't what he was being asked.

"Nothing ever seems to rattle her, she just lets it all go right through her and she always has a plan of action."

He smiled and nodded, remembering how she'd been when he first met her, sure of herself but still shy enough to not speak up. "Oh yeah. She's always been like that. Ever since I met her. She mentally plans for the worst case while hoping for the best."

"I just admire the way she does it, and I wondered if it was something she learnt or if it was her natural state." Kiona shrugged a little, still smiling a little self consciously. It wasn't often Jon was asked about the particular foibles of any of his fellow Captains, especially not by members of their crews, but they probably didn't often have the chance.

"For her, it's natural, but anyone can learn." He smiled and nodded at her again. "Dismissed, lieutenant." He watched her leave and fought the urge to call Erika and tell her the glowing praise from her tactical officer, knowing that sometimes everyone needed a boost. But he didn't know where _Columbia_ was, or if Erika would be in any position to talk. He knew she'd call him when she could, but talking about her had made him miss her, and he hoped he could talk to her soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**_2156 - September_**

The laughter that filled the captain's mess was a welcome relief to the usually tense meetings they'd had in the weeks since leaving Earth. This was the first time the four senior officers had had the chance to sit and talk together. Kalil was in the middle of a rousing story of when the senior staff went rock climbing before the war was officially declared. She had found herself laughing at the memories of the friends and officers they'd lost. Particularly the subject of the current tale. "So, she was sitting on this ledge with her feet dangling off looking at me going 'Kalil, I'm going to fall off'. I swear, it was the funniest thing because when she sobered up again she just shook her head and went 'I thought you learnt on Earth that beer and climbing don't mix'." Erika snorted again, remembering the conversation clearly, she had laughed equally as hard the first time around. After a second of waiting for the chuckles to die out Kalil made to start another story, but a quick glance at her wrist told her they'd been sharing stories for hours, and it was time to think of other subjects. "Remember that time when we all ended up-"

She held her hand up, shaking her head. Especially when she realised which particular story he was planning on telling next. "I don't think anyone needs to hear that particular story."

"Oh, come on Captain, it was funny." Sidra spoke up, defending the ships' XO and his story telling ability.

"I had a cast on my arm for 6 weeks!"

"So did I! Veronica had her leg cast for 10!"

Their guest, and the main reason they were sharing these stories, spoke for the first time since the stories had begun. Though it had looked like he'd been genuinely amused by the stories that had been told. "It sounds like you all had a good time."

"I wouldn't call it a good time, intriguing time, definitely." Kalil muttered, causing Erika to throw her napkin at him before she addressed Reed again.

"So, lieutenant. Now Kalil and Sidra have thoroughly embarrassed me with tales of _Columbia_'s journey, how about you tell us a little more about your experiences on _Enterprise_."

"There isn't all that much to tell." He shrugged with a slightly embarrassed smile. If he didn't want to potentially embarrass his CO she couldn't blame him, despite the fact she probably had worse on him anyway.

"I'm sure that's not true. You're the only person in this room to have made it to Risa." Sidra blurted, then her blush raised, beginning to rival her hair, causing Erika to smirk again, sitting back to watch how this was going to play out.

"How did you know about that?"

"Half the fleet knows _Enterprise_ stopped there a few years ago for leave."

"It's an interesting planet, I hope very much that we get to visit again once the war is over."

"You and me both." Kalil smiled, coming again into the conversation with his thoughts. "I wonder if we'll ever be able to vacation there, I wouldn't mind taking the wife."

"I'm hoping to see Risa one day, if I see it with someone special more the better."

"And by that she means Captain Archer, don't be fooled Malcolm." Sidra teased, Erika knew she should have shut down these jokes months ago, but it was too late now. They at least knew to keep it to private settings. After another round of chuckles Sidra stood up and smiled sincerely and with more than a hint of affection for her comrades. "Captain, if you don't mind, I have some work on the subspace array to do."

"Sure, oh, Sidra. Can you try some test signals out to _Enterprise_ later, I need to speak to Jonathan."

"Course, captain." Sidra nodded and turned to the door as Kalil also stood up, checking his own wrist-chrono.

"I have the gamma shift on the Bridge, it was nice getting to know you Lieutenant."

She nodded the two others out and turned her attention to Malcolm, she'd been waiting to speak to him at ease for a few days, they hadn't had so much chance, with everyone being focused on reading the reports that were coming in to them on their way to Coridan. "So, Malcolm, how are you finding _Columbia_?"

"It's fine captain. I should go and get some sleep."

She held her hand up, stopping the Brit in his tracks and causing him to fall back into his seat. "Not so fast. I want to talk to you a little more about this Section 31. The briefing Jonathan gave me was still full of holes, but I believe he told me everything he knew. Meaning that I need to come to the source for the rest."

"It's a long story, captain." He sighed, and she wondered how many times he'd said that and someone had dropped the matter. This time that wasn't going to happen, not even close to it. Was there an opposite of dropping?

"I'm a good listener."

"Is this an order?" He asked, and her eyes narrowed. There was something about that question that didn't sit right with her.

"Does it have to be?"

"I was an ensign, it seemed exciting. I regret the decisions I made now. But I don't regret that I can help on missions like this."

"What do you think happened on Coridan?" She asked, moving the conversation away from the past, clearly something he was reticent to talk about, to the present, and something he needed to speak to her about.

"I'm not one for making accusations without proof."

"It's not an accusation. It's a hypothesis."

"I'm not sure what happened, but I know that I was sent to prevent the Coridanites from fully investigating, or to cover something up. I won't know which until I get there." She noticed when someone was dodging her questions, and it was never a pleasant experience. She wanted to get to the bottom of this as much as anyone did, and that included Malcolm.

"Are you on the level with me lieutenant?"

"Captain, I swore an oath to Captain Archer that I wouldn't hide anything from him again, I learnt my lesson at Kuvat colony. As far as I'm concerned, that oath covers you, since for this mission you are my commanding officer. I am just uncomfortable speculating until I have the facts." He stopped and took a breath. She knew better than to try and interrupt a man on a mission, and she felt that here she would see the truth in Malcolm's words. If there was something untoward, she would pick up on it. "I do think that there is far more to this bombing than just a stray Romulan attack. The Romulans haven't attacked any non-combatant worlds in the last few years, however if they do I know the worries for places like Nicaustra and Rigel. I will, however, investigate this to the best of my abilities and I will give you all the facts. What we do with those facts when we find them will be left to your discretion, captain." The honesty in his gaze, and the fact he didn't break eye contact told her that Malcolm was being truthful. She hoped that the relief she felt wasn't obvious on her face.

"Thank you for your candor, Malcolm. Dismissed." She didn't see the point of keeping the tactician after something that could be classed as almost an outburst compared to the usual stately manner he held. She knew that maybe, just maybe, he was completely on the level. She was used to her own crew, and she trusted Jonathan's judgement when it came to Reed. Maybe her discomfort came more from having someone unfamiliar on her bridge when going into a worrying situation, she wasn't really sure. All she knew was that this mission was shaping up to be more intriguing than she was actually ready for it to be with so many lives on the line. The entire war could hang on the decisions she made at Coridan, and that added to the pressure.


	4. Chapter 4

**_2156 - October_**

Eating alone had become a regular thing for Kiona, she hadn't realised how lonely she'd feel on this assignment. She missed her friends and her colleagues on _Columbia_. It wasn't as if she didn't know anyone on _Enterprise_, she just didn't know them very well, and it was hard to make friends among a crew who had been together as long as _Enterprise_'s. She was just about to start her dinner when she was interrupted by the voice of Hoshi Sato, she looked up and smiled at Hoshi and her colleagues, knowing that most of the tables were full. "Lieutenant, mind if we join you?"

"Certainly." She nodded, indicating the seats around her. Trip and Travis slid into the seats beside her, Hoshi and an ensign she didn't know taking the further place.

"I don't think we've been introduced, Sara Callahan, I'm the nurse." The unknown ensign sat forward and offered her hand. Kiona remembered _Columbia_'s nurse, Melody, mentioning her friend from training was on _Enterprise_.

"Kiona. You're Melody Liebowitz's friend, right?" She asked, just to be certain.

"Yep, that's me." She confirmed with a smile, already looking at her dinner. Everyone around her began eating almost silently.

"How are you finding _Enterprise_?" Travis' question took her by surprise. She swallowed the bite she'd just taken and thought for a minute before answering, still not really sure what she wanted to say about the ship, and how to say what she felt without being insulting.

"It's alright." She settled on, and it was clear that those around her understood the feeling, one way or another.

Sara spoke up again, a hint of a tease in her voice."We've not seen you around much, wondered if we weren't good enough for you?"

She held up her hand a little defensively, even as she knew that they were teasing. "I just don't really know anybody here. The only person I've really spoken to is Malcolm, and he's on _Columbia_."

"Are you missing _Columbia_?" Hoshi asked quietly. Kiona just nodded and felt a pat on her shoulder from Trip, who she had known before, but his few days on _Columbia_ before weren't really as if he had had a large amount of time to interact with the crew.

She thought on a minute about _Columbia_, and realised exactly how much she missed it. Maybe because Enterprise was on a quiet patrol. She was certain that _Columbia_ would be keeping Malcolm busy, and that was what she hated most. "It's my home, and while Captain Archer is a great captain, he's not my captain."

Trip patted her shoulder again. The brief touch reminding her that they were all Starfleet, so they always had something in common. "I know how you feel. It's hard to adjust when you've worked with one captain for a while. Captain Hernandez is a great captain too though."

"I spoke to Sidra on _Columbia_ yesterday, she told me to tell you they missed you, and that Captain Hernandez has taken the crown for the sweet spot. She said you'd know what that means." Despite Hoshi's confusion both Kiona and Trip burst out laughing at that. She wasn't surprised that Captain Hernandez had reclaimed her title, she had always spent so much time in the sweet spot anyway, she claimed that it was the most relaxing place on the ship.

"Wait, you guys still play that?" Trip asked when their laughter finally trickled off. While he hadn't had time to join in, he had heard of the competitions that were held aboard her.

"I think we'll always play it. The Captain nearly always wins, it seems like she likes being in zero G. I swear that's where she relaxes." She chuckled, glad for a moment that someone else understood the way _Columbia_ ran. She knew that it would be hard for most people to understand their ship.

"What's this?" Hoshi and Sara asked at exactly the same time, Travis only a second later.

"You'd get on with Captain Hernandez in that Travis, _Columbia_ have competitions for things like the most amount of time spent in the sweet spot. I remember that there was an eating competition once."

Kiona shook her head, the last one had been for mardi gras, and they had had a pancake eating competition. Three crewmen had eaten themselves sick, leading to the end of _Columbia_'s eating competitions a year or so earlier. "Dr Metzger put paid to that one." She turned to the others, thinking how best to explain _Columbia_. "Everything is a competition on _Columbia_, and everybody takes part."

"Really? Even the Captain?"

"I think she runs half the betting pools on the ship." She laughed, and smiled as Trip shook his head again in her direction.

"I think she runs half the betting pools in Starfleet to be honest. I know that Admiral Forrest ran them back on the NX project, and she helped him with a lot of them. She's sneaky with it. Probably why she and the Captain get on so well."

This time, Hoshi sat forward conspiratorially and asked in the most innocent voice ever, by the way the others leant in she knew they were all interested in whatever Hoshi was going to ask. "Kiona, Trip won't tell us for sure but maybe you know, are the captain's together?" She looked to Trip briefly who shook his head. She knew that it was a bit of an open secret amongst most of the fleet, but she, Trip, and a few others on both ships knew for a fact. It was best that she not say anything, she knew that.

"I'm sworn to secrecy."

"That's a yes." Travis said, sitting back and laughing. A second later Sara looked to the window then back to the other officers.

"Wait, we dropped out of warp." She said a second before a call came over the comm.

"All hands to battlestations."

"Great timing. Come on." Kiona left her tray where it was and joined the throngs of officers reporting to their stations. She shook her head as she, Travis and Hoshi filed into the one lift going to the Bridge. Everyone else passing them and ignoring the three senior officers. Kiona shook her head, hoping that this was either a drill or something minor, she wasn't sure how she felt about handling _Enterprise_ in a fight. She'd just have to learn.


	5. Chapter 5

**So so so so sorry for the delay in this. I've been insanely scatterbrained this week. Every day I've said "I need to update my fic" and every day I've forgotten. But. Here you go.**

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**_2156 - November_**

The bombed out ruins of Relibun's southern-most suburb gave her the creeps. Every building was crumbling or tilting, very few remained standing at all, and this was the furthest away from the flashpoint that was almost a mile closer to the urban landscape of the city. There was something lonely in a city without people, it spoke of the horror, over 3 million people had died in this part of the city alone. In the two months since _Columbia_ had arrived at Coridan, she had seen the survivors more up close than she'd intended, and the experience was probably going to slid into the vault her brain kept for her nightmares. Malcolm had been right though, this was the perfect place to meet. No Coridanite had come to this place in weeks, whatever was said here would be private.

Instead of focusing on the negative, she looked up again as she walked through a partially demolished doorway, finding Malcolm still studying some other piece of rubble. How he made sense of it she didn't know. To her it was all broken buildings, and the ashes of the people who had lived in them. She shook off that maudlin thought as she approached him, thinking that, possibly , announcing her arrival might be best as to not surprise him. "You said you had something for me?"

Malcolm looked up at her, his eyes refocusing as he did. He looked as dirty as the search and recover teams _Columbia_ had sent down every day. It seemed like the least they could do was return any remains they found to their government, however, this close to the flashpoint nothing had survived intact."Yes sir." Malcolm said after a few minutes, she tried not to outwardly grimace at the old time tradition.

"Malcolm." She admonished lightly, hoping that he would think again. She could forgive him this time, he'd been working longer hours than anyone on this, and she felt bad enough that she didn't have the expertise to really be able to help anyone.

He nodded as he stood up, wiping his hands on the sides of his uniform. "Sorry, Captain. Yes, I do." He looked pointedly to the MACO behind her, one of _Columbia_'s squad, a Liverpudlian by the name of Crichlow. She remembered him flirting with her at the launch party 2 years earlier, she'd been out of uniform and nobody had pointed out to him that she was the captain. After an unsuccessful attempt that she had been rather flattered by, Jonathan had arrived and that had ended that particular source of amusement for the night. Even now he was still slightly embarrassed around her.

"Can you wait outside private, keep watch?" She turned and asked, Crichlow nodding once and turning away without even a word of reply. Once he was out of the doorway and stood on station she looked back at Malcolm. "So, what did you find?"

He shook his head, and straight away she knew it wasn't going to be good news. "Evidence, and not the type either of us wanted." He handed her the PADD with his determinations on it, she flicked through the first few items before looking up at him again.

"So it definitely wasn't the Romulans?"

He shook his head, coming around to stand beside her and point out various things in the PADD. Things she'd hoped never to see on a case her ship was sent to investigate. "No. Unless they've got human scientists."

"OK. Theories?" She asked, having gotten Malcolm more comfortable with this game on the ship, she hoped to gain a decent amount of insight into what the security specialist thought was going on. He narrowed his eyes, but clearly thought about the issues. Her thoughts were less than stellar about this, and she was almost sure which option of any given she'd pick, considering the shady call that had lead to Malcolm's inclusion on this mission regardless.

After another minute or two he held up a finger as he spoke the first possibility that came to his mind, one she hadn't thought about. "Rogue elements from Alpha Centauri or Proxima. Both have longstanding disputes with Coridan."

"Assistance, to the Romulans or the Coridan rebels from a human scientist." Again, an unlikely option, particularly the Rebels. While they wanted to unseat their government, they had never taken action against a civilian target before, and never on this scale either. She thought this was probably the least likely option.

"Or, the least favourable hypothesis, we did it. Starfleet. Section 31 put their words into actions and I was here to stop us finding proof it was them." Malcolm said, and while she was certain there were other ideas, none were forthcoming, and none would have trumped that one in her mind. She'd come here expecting the worst, and it looked like she was going to get it.

"How did you find it?"

"Perseverance. The evidence pointing to the Romulans is fairly solid, but if you look underneath that, at the composition and trace elements of the bomb's design, it couldn't have been constructed anywhere except Earth or one of its colonised worlds."

"So, we're 99% sure this isn't the Romulans. What are we sure of?" That was the question, wasn't it. If there was no solid evidence one way or another, how was he to know for certain which option it was. She could probably have looked at the PADD for the information, but she had always preferred hearing it from the officer who found it.

"That a human was involved. There are DNA traces. Not enough to get it checked but enough that I can conclusively say the bomb was built by a human."

"But no idea who or where?" She sighed, there was a whole lot of nothing, and too many possibilities for her to make a clear determination.

"No, Captain, and if it was the section, you can guarantee that any trace we tried would lead us approximately nowhere."

"So there would be no point trying to trace what we've got anyway."

"I don't believe so."

"Dammit lieutenant what do we do now?" She asked. Not certain why. She was the ranking officer, and whatever happened it was going to be on her shoulders. It was going to be her decision to make.

"Captain, with all respect. Giving you the facts was my job, deciding what to do with them is yours."

"Shit. Right, come on lieutenant, if I'm going to make a hard decision I'm going to do it while sleeping on it."

"Captain?"

"You're done here, I assume. Let's get back to _Columbia_. We'll tell the Coridanites we're analysing the data if we have to. I'm not going to be rushed into a decision on this one." She shook her head and led the way out, Private Crichlow falling into step behind the two flight officers. If Malcolm was right, and her gut feeling told her he was, there was a lot more at stake here than Coridan. A lot more than one bombing on one unaligned planet. There was a chance this could leave Earth fighting a two front war if the Coridanites found out. However if they didn't, they would have a relatively powerful new ally. It was going to be something difficult, and she had no idea which way to turn. This time, at least, she had someone to turn too.


	6. Chapter 6

**_2156 - November_**

She had been surprised by the message she had a call coming in from Enterprise, and had gone through the same three mental stages she did whenever she was called out of the blue. Worry, annoyance and excitement. She always enjoyed hearing from Jonathan, even if his call wasn't expected. She did tend to tease him when that happened though. Just as she intended to do now. She did need to speak to him though, if only to take her mind off things. She would appreciate his opinion though. "This is unexpected."

"_You mean I can't call you out of the blue just because I miss you?_" He replied, a familiar teasing glint in his eye. She looked him over and recognised the signs of fatigue and worry. No doubt he was getting the same vibes from her.

"Jonathan you've not missed me that much in years. How far from Deneva are you?"

"_Earth, but we leave in the morning. Think _Columbia_ will be joining us?_" That simple question reminded her of the decision she still had to make, and to make it to Deneva in time to help the fleet, she'd need to make it within hours now. The pressure really was on.

"I'm not sure, we're almost finished up at Coridan. Is this line secure?"

"_Of course._"

"Sidra is rotating the frequencies too. We found what we expected." She shook her head, not wanting to go into any detail, but after a few seconds he nodded, clearly getting her meaning.

"_What are you going to do?_" He asked, and at that she stood up, needing to get her nervous energy out. After a minute or so she sat down again to an amused smirk from her partner, as she settled he looked at her with a wry smile. "_Are you done? Your choice?_"

"I don't know Jon. On one hand we've got a rogue agency doing whatever it feels is best for Earth, and on the other we've got a bloodthirsty and violent enemy who has taken far too much from us already. So many lives lost for no good reason."

He shook his head and looked at her, that calm being exactly what she needed, and why she always called him in times of stress. He studied her again another moment before speaking. "_Sounds like you might have made up your mind?_"

"Not really. I just know the players. The fact that the choice of which report we give to Coridan is mine is what is making this harder."

"_Have you slept on it?_"

"For three nights. Jon we don't have the resources to fight a two front war. We can't have Coridan gunning for us as well. If we do we might as well hand victory over to the Romulans." She was making her reasoning verbally. Knowing that it would probably be better if she went through it aloud, even if nothing came of the discussion, she would be able to replay it in her mind and she could figure out what the best thing to do would be. She knew it wasn't going to be anything particularly ground breaking or thought provoking, but it was at least a way to get her thoughts into the open. "If Coridan joins the war on the Romulan side, we'll be overrun by the end of the year."

"_It's not that dire, surely._"

"Did you read the reports?" She snapped. Feeling guilty for it almost the second the words left her mouth.

Jon however gave her a look she couldn't quite read before giving a reply laced with sarcasm. "_Yes captain, I did._"

"Sorry, I don't like not knowing which direction to take. What would you do?" She asked honestly, even if she knew he wouldn't say anything, wouldn't do anything. He knew better than to help other Captains make command decisions, it never ended well for him.

"_Oh no, I'm not falling into that trap again, personally or professionally. Rike, whatever choice you make, you'll make the one that is both right for your conscience and right for Earth. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive._" His calm and patient words finally making it through her skull. She didn't have to make the right choice morally, she just had to make the best choice she could, and then she'd go on to fight the next battle.

"I know, I'm just worried, I suppose, that I'll make the wrong choice."

"_Not possible, there are a lot of bad choices there, without a good one in sight._"

She nodded, then thought back to the beginning of the conversation, suddenly overcome with a feeling of helplessness. "If you're leaving for Deneva we might not get to talk again until _Columbia_ joins the fleet."

"_You're still hoping to be at Deneva then?_"

"Oh yeah. We'll be there, and we'll probably save your asses." The standard joke they had when they were coming from different directions certainly made her feel a little better, especially when she saw the honest laughter and happiness on his face. It had taken them a long time to get to this point, but she was glad they had.

"_Probably. But hey, just in case we don't talk between now and then. Be safe, OK._" It was clear he meant in everything. She smiled at the fact he was telling_ her_ to be safe, when _Enterprise_ was the ship due to lead the charge at Deneva.

"I promise, Jonathan. The same to you."

"_I love you, you'll make the right choice._"

"Love you too." She smiled just a little and held his eyes as he leant forward and broke the connection. She leant back in the chair again, picking up the two PADDs, each with a vastly different report on it. One admitting fault, one pushing blame. She wasn't sure which one was the better option. Neither seemed fair, and one way or another, it was going to end up with more casualties in this war. She made her decision then and there, and was ready to accept the consequences, whichever way they fell. She carried the PADD out to the bridge and handed it to Sidra.

"Transmit this to the Coridan assembly, explain to them that I extend my apologies for not delivering it in person, but that we have somewhere we need to be. Reiko, as soon as Sidra has sent the report take us to Deneva, maximum warp."

"That's a three week trip, Captain." Reiko said, looking up from her helm and over her shoulder as she did.

"I know. Let's hope we make it there around the same time as the rest of the fleet." She smiled in the direction of her helmsman and stepped into the turbolift at the back of the Bridge. There was someone who needed to be informed of her decision.


	7. Chapter 7

**_2156 - November_**

The conversation hadn't exactly gone as he'd thought, but once again as the time drew close for them to end the call they spoke about certain things. Things that he didn't necessarily want to think about, and all of them without saying a word. Their standard goodbye of 'be safe' didn't seem like enough this time. Probably because he had almost lost her too many times, and this was the first time in the war they weren't going into the battle together. "_I promise, Jonathan. The same to you."_

"I love you, you'll make the right choice." He reassured her, and he felt as though he saw another worry line fade away. She looked so concerned for him, and for everything, he thought he had the fate of the universe on his shoulders, but right now, that wasn't a figure of speech. She was about to make a decision that could very well affect the war in ways beyond his as a captain.

"_Love you too._" She smiled back, and that was his little boost of confidence. He knew she loved him, and for him that was more than enough, and she didn't tell him often.

He cut the connection, already full of regret that he'd needed to do it. Erika was clearly struggling with the issues raised at Coridan, and if he possibly could he was going to find a way to stop the Section from doing any further harm to Starfleet's reputation. Anything he could do, he would do. But he doubted it was all that much. They seemed to be pretty autonomous, and that worried him all the more.

The chime on the door came at a fairly welcome moment, if only to stop him mentally wishing Erika into being beside him for a moment. They had always been close, but since their relationship had reignited and the war had started, he'd found himself missing her more. He had every intention of spending the rest of his life with her, however long that would be, and after they got off a call he always found himself wishing she was there.

He had been so lost in his thoughts of what was happening parsecs away that it wasn't until T'Pol stopped in front of him and spoke that he realised he'd been inadvertently ignoring her. "Captain?" She prompted again, he sat forward a little and tried to look as if he had been paying attention the whole time, not that he thought for a moment he'd fool his Vulcan XO.

"Sorry, T'Pol. Lost in my thoughts. What can I do for you?" He asked, unsure if this was a scheduled appointment of if she'd come to tell him something. His mind had been wandering for the last few days, he really needed to focus more on what he was doing, rather than planning for the battle that was still weeks away.

"The fleet have taken on the last of their supplies, we are expecting to be at Deneva in 18 days, if we leave within the hour." She placed a PADD on the table and stood up straighter again. He smiled as he reached for it, then shook his head at his own morbid thoughts about the war and the battle they were heading to.

"18 days until we engage in the second planned battle of the war, and it's not even New Year."

T'Pol seemed to ignore his musings, instead choosing a more practical way to look at the call he'd just ended. He was certain she'd known he was talking to Erika, it seemed like his crew had a 6th sense for when the other captain was online, and they tended to leave him alone. "Will _Columbia_ be joining us?"

He nodded, hoping that he wasn't just raising his own hopes. _Columbia_ was far enough away that it would take three weeks at Warp 5 to make it to Deneva. Though he was sure Erika would redline the engines to try and get them there on time. "I just got off with Erika, She expects that _Columbia_ will be there. Maybe not at the start, but they were around about finished at Coridan. Until we go radio dark keep them in the loop."

"Aye sir." She nodded, but clearly she hadn't finished thinking yet. It wasn't usual for him to have to wait for T'Pol to say something. "A second NX class ship will greatly improve our chances."

That was something he couldn't disagree with. Even with the improvements made to the Daedalus and Intrepid class ships over the last few months, neither of them really stood up to the rigors of battle like the NX ships. With only two in service after the destruction of _Discovery_ and _Challenger_'s disappearance 5 months earlier, he liked knowing that Erika and _Columbia_ had his back in these situations, and he wasn't going to lie, he felt uncomfortable when he knew she didn't. "Not to mention we don't have Shran and his cronies this time."

"No sir."

"It's a dirty job but someone has to do it, right?" He said, his thoughts slipping back to the situation on Coridan. The look on T'Pol's face gave him an inkling of how confusing his conversation jump was. He just shook his head before clarifying, wondering why he couldn't tear his mind away. Was there something more sinister about Coridan, or did he just not like that Malcolm was with _Columbia_ when _Enterprise_ was heading into battle. "What _Columbia_ is doing at Coridan."

"I take it Lieutenant Reed found evidence?"

"I'd say so, Erika is battling with the decision, but I have faith in her. She'll pick the one that's right for Earth." That was something he was certain about. Whatever else was going on for her, Erika would always do what was right for Earth.

"Indeed."

He shook himself out of it. Coming back to the present place as best he could. "I'll be out on the Bridge in a few minutes. Can you make sure all ships are ready to leave?"

"Certainly." He watched as the commander turned on her heels and left, leaving him alone to his thoughts once again. With the coming battle he knew he'd need to be on his toes. The Romulans wouldn't be taken by surprise as they were at Berengaria. The plan they'd thought was a good one, and with a hopeful thought of another rescue by Andorian or Tellarite ships in the very back of his mind he knew what was happening. Despite the coalition, Earth would be alone, Earth would fight alone, and he wasn't sure she was ready for that.


	8. Chapter 8

**_2156 - December_**

There weren't many times she could recall slipping back into her childhood by demanding constantly how far away from their destination they were, but for now she was willing to ask "how long?" for every few minutes they weren't already there, she could see some of her crew beginning to be made a little nervous by it, so she attempted to control her nervous energy. Until another "How much longer?" Slipped from her mouth.

"About 5 minutes less than the last time you asked me."

"Sorry, Reiko." She apologised quietly to the helmsman, not blaming her at all for gently rebuking her senior officer.

"Captain, we all want to be at Deneva, we're about 15 minutes away."

"Kalil, anything on sensors?" She looked over towards science, hoping that her XO would have some news.

"Weapons fire and debris. I can't tell details. Probably won't be able to until we get there." Kalil shook his head, clearly unhappy with what he was seeing on his screen, her nerves began to build, she worried that she wasn't doing the right things, or _Columbia_ would arrive too late to be of any use. After another few seconds of silently worrying and thinking, she began giving out her orders.

"Right. Sound battlestations, Reiko lets drop in a few klicks away from where Kalil is detecting those weapons signatures. Kio- Malcolm, charge weapons and plating, make sure that the armory is on alert. Sidra, make sure that engineering knows we're going in to battle and need plasma ducts locked off as soon as we drop out of warp." The chorus of "yes ma'am"'s she got from all the staff around her reminded her that they were all professional, they all knew their jobs. It was becoming second nature for her, she gave the same orders at the beginning of every battle, which was why she'd slipped with Kiona's name.

The fifteen minutes until they dropped out of warp seemed to drag on, but it was obvious when they arrived the battle was mostly over, only three ships were still fighting. Two Romulans and the familiar markings of the NX-01. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to Malcolm.

"Target those two warbirds, let's get them away from _Enterprise_, she looks like she's taken a beating." She ordered, standing over Malcolm's shoulder as she often had with Kiona. Maybe it wasn't the way Malcolm was used to it, but she wasn't moving just yet.

"Captain I'm detecting 8 distress calls." Came the call from communications, that meant there was at least 8 ships with living souls aboard.

She shook her head gently in Sidra's direction, just as worried about their friends, but knowing what had to take priority. "Romulans first, then we'll collect the survivors."

"I have a lock."

"By all means, fire mister Reed." She ordered, and saw the grim smile on his face as he hit the contact to hopefully destroy the ship.

"Yes captain." She celebrated her first battle where _Columbia_ hadn't been hit by a single salvo as one warbird listed to one side and hit her colleague, the two erupting into a fireball that lit up the screen for the second it existed.

"Alright, Sidra, who has the most dire need?" She asked, scanning the battlefield for intact ships aside from their twin, who appeared to be drifting almost lifelessly in the void too.

"_Massachusetts_, _Hubble_ then _Manchuria_. All are losing life support."

"Let's go and collect our colleagues, then we should go and check on our illustrious leader." She smiled a little as the bright looks from her staff. She felt the smile slip again as soon as she wasn't holding someone's eyes, unable to feign the happiness for long.

"We've retaken Deneva, and Starbase One." Reiko said, a smiled on her face, and while Erika understood the happiness that the entire fleet would share, but how many lives had been lost in the two battles. Not counting the others lost in skirmishes over the last couple of years.

"Yes, we've retaken them, but at what cost to Starfleet, Reiko. What cost to humanity. Look at that starfield out there. Our friends, our colleagues, lost their lives to this vacuum today, all because some cultures can't just learn to damn well get along." She was about to start speaking again when she realised she was ranting, letting her personal frustration about the war cloud her judgment, never a good position for a captain to be in.

"Captain, maybe you should take a break during the rescue mission. Have some tea." The suggestion from the comms officer made sense, and maybe she should, but she couldn't, because there were things that she had to take care of first.

"I'm sorry, I just feel like we're losing this damn war, and it's all for no good reason."

She walked back to her command chair and took a deep breath, practicing an old meditation technique she'd learnt in university. It was hard for her to control herself sometimes, especially when she didn't know how many of her friends on the various ships that had been in the fleet had made it through this battle. The one that had appeared to slide down to the last man. She wasn't sure if the battle was worth it any more, she wasn't sure if her career was worth it. There was a duty she had to do, and that was her focus. "See if you can get a hail through to _Enterprise_, if you can't we'll assume they are in dire distress and I'll head over there on a shuttle."

"Captain!" Malcolm shouted from his console, and all she could do was turn to him, shaking her head as she did so.

"Malcolm, I know you want to get back to _Enterprise_, but I need to take an engineering team, and I need to speak to Captain Archer. We'll get you home soon." She tapped the top of the security console and looked to Kalil, who immediately turned to the lift and out to prep. She followed him with her eyes before looking back to Malcolm. "I can trust you with the command of my ship during these rescue missions, correct?"

"Aye captain." She saw the disappointment in his face, and she couldn't blame him, if she had just spent three months serving on another ship, she would probably be impatient to return to her home, but that would have to wait for Malcolm. There were more pressing matters, like how would they hold Deneva for the week until the next convoy of settlers arrived. She needed to talk to Jonathan, that much was obvious. He was supposed to be in charge.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone, this is the last chapter of this particular story, I'll start posting Story 4 tomorrow. Sorry it's been so long without an update, I've been sick. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews and favourites. This was the story I was most worried about, but people seem to have enjoyed it! Thanks thanks thanks! Hope to see you back for story 4, there are some callouts to my friend Anna's series (we write in the same universe there) but she hasn't posted her story yet. Don't worry, I'll poke her to do it and link it when she does! Shin xx**

**_December 30th, 2156_**

In all of her time coming aboard _Enterprise_, she'd never expected to see it like this. More often than not, it was _Columbia_ falling apart, and _Enterprise_ was her perfectly clean big sister, there to help clean up the mess. Erika felt completely adrift as she looked around the battle damaged NX-01. She grabbed the first officer she saw, and it took a moment for her to realise she'd grabbed the arm of the chief engineer. "Trip, what's wrong?" She asked as soon as she saw the anxiety and stress in his face, moreso than usual in this situation.

"The Cap'n and T'Pol are both in sickbay." He said with a worry, stopping when he saw the metaphorical cavalry.

She made the decision immediately, she knew where people would be best used, and that was where she'd send them until she was ready to take over herself. "Right. OK. Kalil, head up to the Bridge here, start overseeing things. Let me go down to sickbay and get the lay of the land." She shook her head, hating thinking about two ships at once. How did the Admirals do this? She looked at Trip, making the last decision almost as quickly as she had the first. "Trip, my engineers are your engineers. Talk to Stewart about whatever you need."

She rubbed his arm in a friendly gesture before walking past him in the direction of sickbay. The moment she walked through the door she was assaulted by the smell of burnt flesh and cleaning products. She fought the urge to wretch and instead focused on finding Jon's CMO. She found him stood over her partner's bed. She took a quick look at Jon's vitals before tapping Phlox on the shoulder. "Doctor?"

"Captain Hernandez, I didn't know _Columbia_ was in the area?"

She smiled dryly, amazed that Phlox could still sound so cheerful despite what was going on around him. "We arrived just in time to chase off the last Romulans for you. Report." She ordered, and instead got a quizzical look.

"Are you in command?"

She nodded, indicating the unconscious captain in front of them. "I'm Jon's second in the fleet, so if he's in here, I'm guessing I am, yes."

"Captain Archer is here, a few injuries, none of them life threatening. He's sedated for the next few hours. He had a nasty concussion." She smiled a little at that. Probably selfishly, but knowing that Jonathan was going to be alright was a weight off her mind.

"Others?"

"15 deaths, 3 still critical." She shook her head. 15 dead. Almost in that second the alarms on one of the other beds started sounding, Erika looked over and saw the inert form of Commander T'Pol being worked on by one of the medical technicians. She thought it might have been Sara, but she wasn't sure until she heard the shout.

"Doctor."

"Coming. Excuse me Captain."

"Dammit Jonathan. I could used your help right now." She leant down and kissed his cheek gently before turning to leave. She avoided as much of the damage as she could before sliding into Engineering, looking around for the two chief engineers, knowing that Stewart wouldn't be content to stay on _Columbia_ when his former ship was in such dire straights. "Trip!" She shouted when she gave up her search through the legs and arms of the engineers.

"Over here!" She heard shouted, and followed the direction of the voice to an alcove behind the warp reactor.

"How is she looking?"

"Salvageable. That's the good news."

"Good, it would take weeks to bring you a whole new warp drive."

"Captain?" Stewart asked, a grim look on his face. "We're going to need to cannabilise our secondary assembly to do it."

"Oh." She didn't look forward to the possibility of not having her secondary assembly. She knew that more things could go wrong in a warp engine than she wanted to know the details of, and the secondary assembly was to help prevent some of those nasties from happening. She also knew from experience that the two chiefs wouldn't be suggesting it if there was any other way. "There's no other way?"

"Sorry ma'am."

"Don't apologise. If it's what we have to do, it's what we have to do. Has Sidra or Hoshi spoken to _Hubble_, _Ontario_ or _London_?"

"Sidra was speaking to Captain _Carpenter_ when I left _Columbia_. They are through the worst, she thinks. Said they'd give a full report when you or Captain Archer contacted them later."

"I'll get on to that. Take what you need from our engines. Just make sure all our boats are worthy for travel as soon as."

"Yes ma'am." She nodded again, taking the short walk to the turbolift to take her to the Bridge. A second after she got in she paused, grateful for a moment alone. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, trying to convince herself that Jonathan would be alright, and that she wouldn't be left in command for long. While she was sure she could do it, she wanted to have him to look too. After a minute or so she pulled herself together, continuing onwards.

She stepped out of the lift and barked "report" before people had even had the option to see her around the support beam that had knocked the captain's chair clear across the bridge. She sidled beside Kiona, glad for someone familiar on the bridge who could give her a report, Kalil stepping up to her a second later and listening to what Kiona had to say.

"Seriously, Captain. This damage all happened right as you arrived. How is Captain Archer?" Kiona asked, looking concerned about her temporary CO. Erika tried to plaster on a reassuring smile, wondering if it looked as fake as it felt.

"Alive, Phlox thinks he'll be alright."

"What about T'Pol" Travis asked from his place at the helm, and Erika just looked down at him and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, ensign. I don't know. Kalil, can I leave you with _Enterprise_ until Commander Tucker relieves you. This is his ship right now, but he's busy in engineering. Kiona, let's take you home and send Malcolm back to his ship, he's been chomping at the bit to get home." She led the way off the Bridge, for some reason desperately wanting to be back on _Columbia_. Maybe it was how often she had been the one in _Enterprise_'s position, needing help to make it home. It always made her uncomfortable, and it probably always would.

The next few days would be spent licking their wounds and acting as if they knew what was coming next. They didn't, nobody did, but they could pretend. As it was she was hoping there would be a few days of calm. The crews of all of Starfleets ships needed a short break. Whether they'd get it was another matter entirely.


End file.
